TAYLOR, Mich. – The Sam Houston State Bearkats' run at the NCAA Bowling Champions came to an end Friday afternoon following a pair of losses during bracket play.

The Bearkats entered after Thursday’s qualifying round and the No. 7 seed and faced Nebraska. Sam Houston got off to a good start, taking the first game from the No. 2-seeded Cornhuskers. However, Nebraska answered back taking the next four games to win the match.

In the elimination game, the Kats faced No. 6 Arkansas State, who knocked off the Bearkats in Thursday’s qualifying round.

The Red Wolves took the opening game, just edging the Kats 183-165. SHSU finished the second game strong, rolling seven consecutive strikes to finish out the game. The Red Wolves took control of the match winning games three and four.

The Bearkats staved off elimination by winning the fifth by just seven pins, before falling in the sixth game.

“Overall it was a good day for us,” said head coach Brad Hagen. “Unfortunately they were able to get a little more carry than we were. The good and bad thing about this sport is you need to get breaks to win and we just didn’t get them today.”

The Bearkats finish their inaugural season in historic fashion, earning the recognition as the only first year program in NCAA history to advance to the national championship. Also, they earned their first All-America honor with Dayna Galganski getting named honorable mention.

“I am really proud of the girls,” Hagen said. “This was a new experience for them and on the whole, I thought we did a great job of handling everything that came at us.”